NBA 2K11 and The 50 Greatest Sports Games Ever Made

NBA 2K11 and The 50 Greatest Sports Games Ever Made

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NBA 2K11 was released October 11, and it's been heralded as one of the greatest sports video games of all time. Between the ability to play as Michael Jordan, to the combination of features that appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers alike, it's certainly thrust itself into the conversation.

But is NBA 2K11 the best sports video game ever? Is it even in the top 10? We've compiled the comprehensive list of the 50 best sports video games of all time, based on a series of criteria.

Timelessness: How has/will the game hold up over time?

Graphics: Obviously, we're doing this based on how the graphics were at the time of publication, rather than currently, to avoid bias towards the most recent installments of the games.

Gameplay: Was the game fun to play? How did it handle, smoothly or choppily? Once again, we're basing this on the gameplay standard of the time, to keep things fair.

Authenticity: How close to the real thing was it? This wasn't a big factor, as games can be classic without being realistic, and vise versa.

Originality: Did it do something no other game has done? Was it the pioneer for something that wouldn't be fully realized till later?

Difficulty: Was the game easy to pick up? Was it tough to master? A game that strikes a good balance here gets major points.

Intangibles: Something that can't be measured by the other criteria. It'll make sense, I promise.

Now that that's out of the way, let's get started.

50. Super Dodge Ball, Sony Imagesoft, 1989, NES

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What it Is: Take Control of an upstart American dodgeball team, as they take on some of the best teams the world has to offer, in a quest to win the World title.

Graphics: 6/10. The graphics were pretty good for 1989, but nothing spectacular. Had some flicker issues, even back in the day.

Gameplay: 7.5/10. It was fairly deep, with five or six different types of throws, not counting the specials.

Each player had attributes and varying levels of health to begin with. Even so, loses points for lacking any way to know who was good at throwing, and who sucked at everything without trial and error.

Authenticity: 8.5/10. Virtual dodgeball that felt like the real thing, but without the blood and broken noses.

Originality: 8/10. It was dodgeball!

Difficulty: 5.5/10. Easy to pick up, relatively easy to beat once you get the hang of it. Still, it was tricky at times, and if you weren't careful, Iceland would mess you up.

Timelessness: 4.5/10. Dodgeball hasn't held up well over the years, and other versions on other consoles wound up being superior. Once you beat it, there's no reason to play it again.

Intangibles: 8/10. I re-discovered this game recently on an emulator, and got hooked for close to a week.

Overall: A strong effort, and a fun, unique game that just cracks the top 50.

49. Ice Hockey, 1988, Nintendo, NES

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What it Is: Take control of six different nation's hockey teams and go head-to-head in this NES classic. Pick your lineup based on player attributes and try to beat the world's best.

Graphics: 7/10. From the scowling goalie masks to the faces on the players, Ice Hockey was solid.

Originality: 5/10. There hadn't been an NBA game with discernable players before J v. B. Otherwise, it was pretty run of the mill.

Difficulty: 5/10. Beatable.

Timelessness: 2/10. JvB was obsolete within two years, and had limited replay value.

Intangibles: 8/10. People went crazy over this, for about six months. Still that has to be worth something.

Overall: A revolutionary game that served it's purpose and went the way of the dodo.

41. Joe Montana Sports Talk Football '93, Sega, 1992

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What it Is: Sports Talk Football was one of the earliest footbal sims of all time. It had full NFL licensing, and had actual play-by play with the game.

Graphics: 7/10. Weather effects appeared for the first time, and players weren't stumpy little squares.

Gameplay: 6/10. STF played pretty well, but wasn't all that great.

Authenticity: 8/10. NFL licensing made STF one of the most realistic football games to date.

Originality: 7/10. Points for play-by-play, but as a sequel, not much different about the gameplay.

Difficulty: 7/10. Came close to the balance of accessibility and difficulty.

Timelessness: 3/10. STF has been overshadowed and forgotten because of the juggernaut that is Madden.

Intangibles: 8/10. I thoroughly enjoy STF, although it's not as good as most of the other football games on the list.

Overall: A solid effort, and a couple breakthroughs Joe Montana just outside the top 40.

40. Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, 1998, Electronic Arts, Playstation

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What it Is: A street racing game involving the potential for arrest, Hot Pursuit focused on the chase, rather than a race, although racing is still a major part of the game.

Graphics: 10/10. Ultra-realistic car graphics made this game a hit.

Gameplay: 8/10. Strong handling and smooth gameplay were big factors in the success of Hot Pursuit.

Authenticity: 3/10. Police chases like this happen all the time, right?

Originality: 3/10. There were two NFS games before Hot Pursuit, and both featured the potential to get arrested, so all Hot Pursuit did was get it right.

Difficulty: 3/10. This game was flat out tough. There was little margin for error, even starting out.

Timelessness: 7/10. Hot Pursuit has aged fairly well, and I've played it recently on the PC.

Intangibles: 6.5/10.This game was addicting, and fun, if it was obscenely frustrating.

Overall: A solid choice to start our top 40.

39. Mario Strikers Charged, 2007, Nintendo, Wii

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What it Is: A frantic soccer game full of action, crazy shots and violence as far as the eye can see.

In other words, fantastic.

Graphics: 6.5/10. Good for the Wii, terrible for the other current-gen consoles.

Gameplay: 9/10. Crazy, two-button action and the unique controls with the Wii remote made this as addicting as it's predecessor.

Authenticity: 0/10. If you have to ask why, then stop reading now.

Originality: 7/10. A fantastic concept perfected. It was a sequel, so it can't get full originality marks, but it's still pretty solid.

Difficulty: 8/10. Easy to pick up, tough to master.

Timelessness: 9/10. This one feels like it could hang around a while, and it's replay value is high.

Intangibles: 7/10. A fun game, but it lacks true substance and depth.

Overall: A truly fun, creative break from the doldrums of FIFA.

38. MVP 06 NCAA Baseball, EA Sports, All Consoles

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What it Is: When EA Sports lost the rights to MLB licensing, they turned instead to the college baseball world, using their stellar baseball engine to make a fantastic game.

Graphics: 8.5/10. Sharp, smooth, clear graphics with only a hint of choppiness.

Gameplay: 9/10. NCAA Baseball used the same engine as MVP Baseball 2005, coming up later in the list, so you know it was good.

Authenticity: 6/10. Accurate other than the fact that none of the players had names.

Originality: 3/10. Points for being about college baseball, but it was essentially the same game as 2005.

Difficulty: 8/10. Good learning curve, but can be tough if you want it to be.

Timelessness: 5.5/10. With college players leaving constantly, this game lacked real staying power.

Intangibles: 6/10. This one never made the impact EA Sports hoped it would, and they dropped the series in 2007.

Overall: A great game, but unoriginal and lacking staying power.

37. FIFA World Cup 2010, 2010, EA Sports, All Consoles

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What it Is: The official game of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Graphics: 9/10. A beautiful game that captures the essence of World Cup football.

Gameplay: 8/10. Simplified controls make it more accessible to new players, but could turn off the cagey veterans.

Authenticity: 10/10. 199 out of the 204 possible teams can be chosen. That's pretty accurate, if you ask me.

Originality: 2/10. Essentially FIFA Soccer 10 in shiny new packaging.

Difficulty: 6/10. Simple learning curve, but the new controls make the game easier to master as well.

Timelessness: 4/10. 4 for the number of years till people start focusing on the next World Cup tournament.

Intangibles: 7/10. Captures the essence of international soccer, the passion and drama of it all quite well.

Overall: An excellent effort, all in all. Not original, but solid nonetheless.

36. Topspin 2, 2006, 2K Sports, Xbox 360

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What it Is: The second edition of 2K Sports' tennis sim is one of the best tennis games of all time. It's combination of graphics and strong simulation of the game of tennis make it a must-have for any tennis fan.

Graphics: 8/10. Excellent graphics for a 2006 launch, although not quite top tier.

Gameplay: 7/10. The game has a steep learning curve, but once you master it, you're hooked.

Authenticity: 10/10. Feels like the genuine article.

Originality: 6/10. Topspin 2 tries to do original things, but it's tough to do with a tennis game.

Timelessness: 8/10. People still play this game with regularity, and it's got as devoted a following as any racing game on the market.

Intangibles: 7.5/10. This game is addicting, and has all the makings of a long-term classic.

Overall: The best game in the formidable Mario Kart arsenal.

34. NFL Blitz, 1998, Midway, N64

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What it Is: Picture the NFL, but on heavy doses of HGH, with no rules whatsoever. Now, you have NFL Blitz.

Graphics: 6.5/10. Decent, but nothing spectacular.

Gameplay: 9/10. Incredibly fun to blow up running backs or quarterbacks on defense.

Authenticity: 2/10. It has NFL players, but that's where the realism ends.

Originality: 8/10. A completely different take on football, that was a breath of arcadey goodness in a realm dominated by sims.

Difficulty: 6/10. Easy to pick up, easy to master, easy to beat.

Timelessness: 8.5/10. People still pine for Blitz's glory days, but with Midway a shell of it's former self, we won't see anything like it again.

Intangibles: 8/10. There's something about this game that hooks you in.

Overall: A fun, if somewhat shallow, game that still holds up well today.

33. NBA Live 99, 1998, EA Sports, All Consoles

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What it Is: NBA Live 99 is a straight up NBA sim. Plain and simple.

It's a good blend of arcadey fun and serious team management.

Graphics: 8/10. Sure, they look like crap now, but back then this was close to the pinnacle of video game beauty.

Gameplay: 7.5/10. Live suffered from the same slippery floor issues it'd had in previous versions. But otherwise, it was an excellent game to play.

Authenticity: 9/10. Live had players with emotion to go along with the rosters and jerseys.

Originality: 6/10. The emotions were unique, but otherwise, there was little new in this game.

Difficulty: 5/10. Not hard to master and beat.

Timelessness: 2/10. As with most sports games, Live 99 went the way of the dodo.

Intangibles: 7/10. You have no idea how much fun 12-year-old me had turning the difficulty all the way down, turning fouls, offsides and out of bounds off, and scoring 100 points on the Bulls with Jeff Hornacek.

Overall: A good game for it's time, but it hasn't aged all that well.

32. NBA Street 2, 2003, XBox, PS2, Gamecube

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What it Is: NBA Street 1 breathed life into the moribund arcade basketball, and NBA Street 2 perfected it.

Graphics: 8.5/10. Great graphics and smooth animations.

Gameplay: 8/10. Game handled well, and even the most complex dribbles, dunks and passes could be done with relative ease.

Authenticity: 2/10. Nothing like turning down the gravity to make a basketball game fun.

Originality: 6/10. Street 2 introduced the legends to the game, including Michael Jordan and Julius Irving. However, it was still the same in terms of gameplay.

Difficulty: 8/10. Easy to pick up, tough to beat.

Timelessness: 5.5/10. Volume 2's throne was usurped by volume 3, and the middle child has yet to fully recover.

Intangibles: 7.5/10. This game was as addicting as NBA Jam was back in the day.

Overall: A fun, high-octane game that was deeper than you'd expect.

31. Gran Turismo 3, 2001, Sony, Playstation 2

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What it Is: One of the most realistic racing games of all time, Gran Turismo 3 is certainly one of the top 50 games of all time.

Graphics: 10/10. I've seen PS3 games and 360 games that don't look that good.

Gameplay: 5.5/10. GT3's interface was very detail oriented, and made it difficult to get into.

Authenticity: 10/10. Down to the exact length of the spoilers on the backs of the cars. Everything looked, felt and handled like the real deal.

Originality: 4/10. GT3 was mostly a souped-up version of GT2, with a few extras thrown in for good measure.

Difficulty: 1/10. It was tough to get into, tougher to beat, and nearly impossible to dominate. All in all, not for the casual gamer whatsoever.

Timelessness: 7/10. GT3 has held up well over the years, and despite a fourth edition being released and a fifth being in the works, many fans still cling to 3 furiously.

Intangibles: 2/10. This game was a true racing sim.

You tinkered with cars and tried different things, and if they didn't work, you tried something new. It was as frustrating as any game I've played.

Overall: A masterpiece few are skilled enough to fully appreciate.

30. Ken Griffey Jr.'s Slugfest, 1999, Nintendo, N64

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What it Is: The 1999 version of Ken Griffey Jr.'s baseball game was a smash hit, between its strong interface and graphics and its realistic rosters

Graphics: 7/10. It's weird to think that used to be the pinnacle of graphical prowess.

What it Is: The fourth installment in the Pro Skater series, THPS 4 was widely seen as the best game of the group, with its diverse levels and complex, yet simple, gameplay.

Graphics: 8.5/10. This was a pretty game, but it suffered from occasional pixel issues.

Gameplay: 9.5/10. The removal of the time clock on each level proved a gameplay coup, freeing up players to go where they saw fit. It handled smoothly, and was easy to pick up and play.

Authenticity: 5/10. The tricks were legit, but the physics were way off.

Originality: 7/10. For being a fourth game in a series, THPS 4 was incredibly original. It re-defined the extreme sports genre with many of it's gameplay subtleties, but at it's core, it was still similar to the other games in the franchise.

Difficulty: 8.5/10. Hard, but not inaccessible, and it made you want to come back.

Timelessness: 6/10. People still play it, but other installments of the series have since improved on the flaws in THPS 4.

Intangibles: 7/10. This game was unbelieveably fun. It was frustrating at times, but overall, an enjoyable game to play.

Overall: The best of the series, THPS 4 changed the way we thought of skateboarding video games.

28. SSX 3, 2003, EA Sports BIG, All Consoles

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What it Is: The third edition of the SSX series, SSX 3 was a high-speed, high-flying snowboarding game in which big tricks were highly valued.

Graphics: 9/10. SSX3's graphics were excellent at the time, and have stood up fairly well.

Gameplay: 8.5/10. The controls were easy to pick up, and the characters typically handled smoothly.

Authenticity: 2/10. Try taking your feet out of a snowboard at some point in midair and tell me how that works out for you.

Originality: 5.5/10. This was the same game as SSX 2, but there were some alterations. It focused heavily on continuity between tracks and creativity than previous versions of the game.

Difficulty: 6.5/10. Easy to pick up, but frustrating quite often.

Timelessness: 7.5/10. This game is still regarded as one of the best snowboarding games of all time.

Intangibles: 6.5/10. This game was fun, but it wasn't as addicting as other games on the list.

Overall: The best snowboard game of all time, and one of the best extreme sports games ever.

27. Tecmo Bowl, 1989, Tecmo, NES

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What it Is: Tecmo Bowl was a football game featuring several NFL teams. It allowed you to call your own offensive and defensive plays, and has become a cult classic.

Graphics: 8/10. The graphics were great back in 1989, when the game was released.

Gameplay: 9/10. One of the first football games that was fun to play, and easy to understand. It's basic controls belied surprising depth.